How to apply for the Streamlined Amnesty Program

Eligibility Review

Before any forms are prepared, Capital Tax Limited confirms the Streamlined Foreign Offshore Procedures (SFOP) is actually the right path for you. The qualifying tests (US filing obligation, non-willful conduct, and the applicable non-residency requirement) are each a potential disqualifier. For citizens and green-card holders that requirement is 330-day foreign presence plus no US abode in a covered year; someone who is neither is tested on failing the substantial presence test, and on a joint return both spouses must qualify.

These are threshold conditions rather than factors to be weighed. A submission made under SFOP by someone who does not meet them does not carry the penalty relief, and the penalties the procedures would have taken off the table remain available to the IRS. If the non-residency test is not met, SFOP is not available: the domestic track (SDOP) works only by amending original returns already on file, so someone with never-filed years who also fails that test fits neither track and needs advice on the full facts. Capital Tax Limited also identifies the years in play, typically the most recent three tax years.

Document Gathering

This is where most of the elapsed time lives, because it depends on compiling paperwork. For three years of federal returns and six years of FBARs, typical documents include:

• Foreign bank and brokerage statements for all six years (each calendar year's high balance is required for FBAR)
• Foreign pay slips or local-country tax returns
• Foreign pension and retirement account statements
• Rental property income and expense records, if applicable
• Records of foreign tax paid or accrued, for Foreign Tax Credit claims
• Proof of US physical-presence absence (passport stamps, visa records, residence certificates) for the 330-day test

Banks can usually provide older statements if requested. If you cannot locate everything, there are methods to reconstruct reasonable estimates, though it is cleaner to work from primary documents where possible.

Return Preparation

Capital Tax Limited prepares three years of Form 1040 federal returns, any applicable state returns, and up to six years of FinCEN Form 114 (the FBAR).

Each return applies the Foreign Earned Income Exclusion or Foreign Tax Credit, depending on which produces the better result for you, and accounts for any Form 8938 (FATCA) reporting if your assets cross the thresholds. You review drafts before anything is signed.

The Non-Willful Certification

This is the legally significant piece of the compliance package. Form 14653 is a signed statement in which you certify, under penalty of perjury, that your non-compliance was not willful.

The certification requires a narrative: a plain-English explanation of why you did not file. A typical narrative details when you moved abroad, your assumption that paying local-country taxes satisfied your obligations, and when you learned of the FBAR filing requirement.

Capital Tax Limited drafts this with you, which you edit into your own voice. If there are facts in your history that could read as willful, this is the moment to pull a tax attorney into the conversation.

Submission

The complete package (three returns, six FBARs, and Form 14653) is submitted to the IRS. You pay any tax due plus statutory late-payment interest at the time of submission.

The FBARs are filed electronically with FinCEN through the BSA E-Filing System, separately from the streamlined package. They are not included in the paper submission sent to the IRS; FinCEN and the IRS receive them through different channels.

IRS Processing

The IRS does not send a confirmation letter, because there is nothing to confirm. Its published guidance says receipt of the returns is not acknowledged and the streamlined process does not culminate in the signing of a closing agreement. Silence is the normal outcome rather than an acceptance. Submissions are not audited automatically, but they may be selected under the same audit selection processes that apply to any US tax return.

There is no point at which the IRS declares the filed years closed. From there, you return to the normal annual cycle: file your current-year return by April 15 (or June 15 with the expat extension) and your FBAR by April 15 (extended to October 15).